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Epoch Times
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Epoch Times
‘Escape at Bedtime' by Robert Louis Stevenson
Escape at Bedtime The lights from the parlour and kitchen shone out Through the blinds and the windows and bars; And high overhead and all moving about, There were thousands of millions of stars. There ne'er were such thousands of leaves on a tree, Nor of people in church or the Park, As the crowds of the stars that looked down upon me, And that glittered and winked in the dark. The Dog, and the Plough, and the Hunter, and all, And the star of the sailor, and Mars, These shone in the sky, and the pail by the wall Would be half full of water and stars. They saw me at last, and they chased me with cries, And they soon had me packed into bed; But the glory kept shining and bright in my eyes, And the stars going round in my head. Iowa Basics standardized testing was hardly known for creating a magical atmosphere at school, especially with the picturesque backdrop of rows of computers. Yet my seventh grade self found the tests particularly poignant one day when I came across an excerpt used in the literature portion of the exam. It was from Robert Louis Stevenson's 'Escape at Bedtime.' I memorized a few of the lines so I could search them later and find the name of the poem. I so vividly remember the exact moment I experienced the enchantment of those lines during testing: 'And the pail by the wall/ would be half-full of water and stars.' In fact, apparently, my first encounter with the poem was memorable enough for my friend and classmate to recall this moment as well, all these years later. Why is it that such a simple poem would be so striking? The subject is simple enough, directed towards an audience of children. And yet, with such deft strokes, it paints a vivid picture of a starlit scene and captures a child's emotional reaction to it. The lines reproduce such a fearful, awful sense of childlike wonder in the reader. And we ought to have that facile fear and awe; we ought to be able to be taken aback and allow our surroundings to work on us, such that natural beauty impresses itself upon our minds. Starlit Prison Stevenson aptly captures how everything is larger than life in a child's eyes; the starlit scene takes on a dramatization that makes small actions seem immense. From the second line, we have a sense of imprisonment: The light filters through the 'blinds and the windows and bars,' making the speaker seem like a captive. Out beyond the prison walls, the stars 'glitter and wink in the dark' with a youthful mischievousness, evading all human captors and bondage. It would seem beyond human power to lay hold of the stars, with the exception of that one line: 'the pail by the wall would be half full of water and stars.' Within the pail, the fluid, formless water and starlight are suspended at a midpoint: They are confined but elusive, ready to spill out at any second. What's more, their immensity is contained within a humble, unassuming vessel, much like the beauty of the vast cosmos within a child's eyes. The speaker is broken from his celestial rapture by the arrival of his parents. He is shepherded away and unceremoniously 'packed into bed,' but the last stanza carries the sense that his recent encounter with beauty serves as a consolation even after he can no longer see it except in his mind's eye. It is something that neither sleep nor obscured sight can take from him. The Glory Kept Shining and Bright A cluster of young stars resembles an aerial burst, surrounded by clouds of interstellar gas and dust, in this image captured in August 2009 and December 2009, and obtained on Sept. 26, 2018. NASA From the start of the poem, we can glean that the speaker is outside, seeing the light from the kitchen and parlor shining out through the dark. There is a tension between the sense of confines and the vastness and freedom represented by the expanse of stars and their observer outside the walls of the house. That same vastness is mirrored in the cosmos within the boy's mind, providing him with the same sense of 'glory' even within the walls of his room. Related Stories 7/23/2021 2/13/2024 Recognizing the constellations above him, the speaker's imagination is fed with the images of 'The Dog, and the Plough, and the Hunter' among the stars. In fact, the stars are alive in his imagination, as he describes the 'crowds of the stars that looked down upon me,/ And that glittered and winked in the dark.' In the child's depiction of the scene, we share in the sense of not only wonder at the beauty described but also in the excitement of his daring 'escape,' a simple, everyday event imaginatively dramatized in the poem. The poem aptly illustrates the effect of beauty on the mind and its lasting effect on the imagination. When we are properly receptive to it, it stays with us and continues to work on us long after we no longer actively behold it. Just as the poem lingered within my mind so many years later, the glory of the stars lingers in the child's mind and feeds his imagination with a beautiful object of contemplation. What arts and culture topics would you like us to cover? Please email ideas or feedback to
The Hill
06-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Trump cuts to weather monitoring, climate research put millions at risk, expert warns
President Trump's cuts to monitoring weather and climate research will put millions of Americans at risk, an expert warned this week. Alonzo Plough, a researcher and chief science officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, warned in an op-ed published Monday that extreme weather and associated health risks will harm people across the country. 'Rather than protecting families and communities from these harms, however, the Trump administration has sent a far different message to the American people: You're on your own,' Plough wrote. His article comes after the Trump administration has sought to reduce federal spending, which has included major cuts to research and jobs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service (NWS). The cuts have sparked concern about the future impact of extreme weather on Americans and their communities. Due to those cuts, families and communities across the country will have a harder time preparing for and responding to extreme weather events, Plough argued. 'I find these actions to be baffling, reckless, and dangerous,' he said. Plough noted that state and local health and weather officials work tirelessly to protect their communities and alert them to hazards. Instead of following their lead, the federal government has 'cast them aside,' he argued. According to a draft document from April, the White House plans to eliminate NOAA's research office and cut 74 percent of its funding. This would also eliminate all funding for climate and weather laboratories and for regional climate data. About 15 percent of NOAA's staff have been dismissed in accordance with the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) downsizing efforts since the start of the Trump administration. In the Monday report, Plough highlighted a variety of the administration's cuts and changes, including only sending weather alerts in English harming the 67 million who speak another language, and shutting down the Office of Climate and Health Equity. 'All of this is happening as extreme weather due to climate change becomes increasingly common,' he wrote, noting how people at the highest risk are those with low incomes and that lack affordable housing, food, health care and transportation. 'These inequities are often driven by structural racism affecting Black and Brown neighborhoods in particular.' Plough called on policymakers to change course and protect communities amid increasing weather events. State and local leaders cannot accomplish it all, he said, urging federal leaders and the Trump administration to do more. 'Our lives and health depend on it,' he concluded.
Times
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Times
Inside the conclave: the politics of choosing a new pope
It is almost impossible to plot church politics on the left-right spectrum traditionally used for secular leaders and parties, but the approaching conclave behind the locked doors of the Sistine Chapel will still be highly political, experts have said. The conclave itself is still at least two weeks away, but discussions have already started, with 135 cardinals from around the globe asked to be in the Vatican by 9am on April 22, less than 26 hours after Pope Francis drew his final breath. Cardinal Vincent Nichols was packing his bags and heading to the airport on Tuesday morning, with his fellow Englishman Timothy Radcliffe having travelled out the day before. More than a hundred other cardinals who are aged over 80 and therefore too old to vote in the conclave — including the Englishman Michael Fitzgerald, who took an early flight on Tuesday — are also expected to descend on Rome to play their role in the conversations. These are known as 'general congregations', where cardinals discuss the challenges facing the Catholic church as they prepare to elect the man they want to tackle them. The film Conclave, starring Ralph Fiennes and John Lithgow, depicts a battle between conservatives and liberals, with each faction wanting to elect a candidate from their tribe, aware that the next pope will shape the Vatican's culture, attitude and direction for many years to come. • Papal conclave: What happens when the pope dies? The use of the terms 'right' and 'left' only came into use after the French Revolution in 1789. Asking if the next pope will be more 'right wing' than Francis is therefore the 'wrong question,' said Madoc Cairns, editor of Plough, a quarterly Christian magazine. 'Catholicism is nine times older than the left-right paradigm,' he said. 'There's no way to plot conclave politics on less than twenty different axes, several of which operate on non-physical planes and three of which are about being Italian.' For those of us watching from outside, there is little way to know what is going on within the chapel's walls until we see smoke emerge from the chimney. The words 'extra omnes', which translates to 'everyone out', are declared, and the voting cardinals are locked in. A single vote is taken on the first day. After this, two votes are taken each day in the morning and two more in the afternoon until one candidate has a two-thirds majority. It took a little over 24 hours to elect Francis, but it took five days in 1922. After each vote, the ballots are burned, sending smoke up the chimney. If the smoke is black, no decision has been reached. When a new pope has been chosen, different chemicals, similar to those used in fireworks, are added to turn the smoke white and inform the outside world. But how much lobbying goes on in quiet corners before the conclave begins and between the votes? Is there any horse-trading between factions in the lunch queue or over nightcaps in their sleeping quarters? How do those seen as frontrunners let it be known whether they would like the job? Rules set out in a decree by Pope John Paul II state that there must be 'absolutely no violation of secrecy' about what goes on in and around the chapel, backed up by the threat of 'automatic excommunication', the worst punishment the church can mete out to a Catholic. The voting cardinals are also told they will be excommunicated if they agree to 'any form of pact, agreement, promise or other commitment of any kind which could oblige them to give or deny their vote to a person'. This may be seen to refer specifically to bribery or coercive behaviour, however, with John Paul II having noted: 'It is not my intention to forbid the exchange of views concerning the election.' This gives cardinals leeway to undertake a certain amount of lobbying, said Brenden Thompson, chief executive of Catholic Voices, but they need to get most of this done before the conclave kicks off. • Who will be the next pope? The candidates who could succeed Francis 'There is something beautiful and timeless about the way a conclave happens,' he said. 'If you're not predisposed to like Catholicism, it looks very secretive, like there's something very dodgy here. But they are trying to … choose somebody who is going to be a spiritual leader to a third of the world, so you want them to take that gravely and seriously'. Most of the cardinals will never have met each other or taken part in a conclave, so will be undertaking their own crash-course on how the process works, Thompson said. 'They are human beings, so there's always going to be an inevitable amount of politics. They will have their own emphases and styles and [will know] whether they're looking for someone who is like Francis, a kind of continuity candidate, or want someone to be a contrast. 'Some may have their minds made up and know particular cardinals, but will be open to hearing [others].' • Melanie Phillips: Catholic church has new appeal for the young Different issues will be important to different people, from gay and women's rights to the role of synods in shaping the church. 'A lot of those things will be flashpoints', Thompson said. Some may be 'harbouring secret intentions' in wanting to be pope but will not want to be accused of careerism by openly lobbying for the role. 'It looks very poor form for someone to look like they are … clearly itching for the job,' Thompson said. 'I think it happens in subtle ways, if someone lets it be known they have the credentials'. Cut off from the outside world, the cardinals are staying together in Casa Santa Marta. 'When they're in the apartments, they can have informal conversations,' Thompson said, because they ultimately need to coalesce around one candidate. 'You have to be able to start asking other people: 'What do you think?' and have to shift and change votes,' he said. Amid all the lobbying and the prayers, one thing remains true. The naming of a new Archbishop of Canterbury could take a full year from Justin Welby's announcement of his resignation, but the election of a new pope has a brutal efficiency to it. Thompson said: 'What it is, is a really stubborn attempt at saying: 'We're going to keep voting until someone comes out.''
BBC News
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Devon's Plough Arts Centre celebrates 50th anniversary
An arts centre in Devon is holding exhibition to celebrate its 50th anniversary. The Plough Arts Centre, in Great Torrington, has invited members of the public to add their memories of the centre to a story box. An exhibition, Magical Memories, is taking place in its gallery from Friday until 31 May. Centre CEO Emma Martson said: "There's tonnes of memories here and we'd love the community to get involved." Youth theatre There is also a 50th anniversary pantomime due to be performed on 11 and 12 April. Actor Emlyn Harris said one of his main reasons for moving to Great Torrington was because of Plough theatre. He said: "It's wonderful to be part of something that's so important ... 50 years is quite incredible. "The wonderful thing about this panto is just the young people who are involved in it, the youth theatre; it's how I sort of started in theatre and it's such a great way to get out there and mix with a community." Bella, who is taking part in the pantomime said: "I love theatre because, at this point it is my life, it's just the most amazing thing - I think it's a creative outlet... and through it I've made so many friends."Evie, who is also also in the pantomime, added: "The Plough is really important to me. "I've been coming here ever since I was little and I'm also really into acting as well, so I thought it was a great opportunity."
The Guardian
11-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
James Graham unveils AI comedy at ‘greatest hits' gala for Paines Plough
A politician bounds on to the stage to talk about the future of theatre. 'I'm here to help,' she announces with an unctuous smile, holding an iPad. The occasion is the 50th anniversary of a celebrated touring company. The politician tries to convince her audience that technology will lead the way. Drama is not real but 'artificial' so, moving ahead, wouldn't it make more sense for artificial intelligence to produce it? 'Let's reset!' she says, whooping at her idea. The scenario is, thankfully, artificial itself: a short new satirical work by James Graham, written to mark the 50th anniversary of Paines Plough, which has championed new writing and helped kickstart the careers of Graham and a glittering alumni of other leading British playwrights. The scene, performed by Monica Dolan and exuding The Thick of It vibes, opened a gala event on Monday at the Criterion theatre in London. Joint artistic directors Katie Posner and Charlotte Bennett, hosting the night, spoke of new writing not as 'the future of theatre, but as theatre itself'. The small but mighty company was conceived by David Pownall and John Adams in 1974 over a pint of Paines bitter in a Bedford pub called the Plough. It has since nurtured writers including Sarah Kane, Mike Bartlett, Abi Morgan, Duncan Macmillan, Dennis Kelly, Simon Stephens and Chris Bush. Graham, now its patron, said a monologue he wrote for the company, about the miners' strike in Nottinghamshire, inspired his hit TV series Sherwood. Others there alongside him paid homage and reminisced. Mark Ravenhill spoke of becoming literary manager and inviting Kane to be writer-in-residence, during which time she staged her savagely lyrical play, Crave. A script-in-hand extract of that play was searingly performed by Alfred Enoch, Rebekah Murrell, Siobhán McSweeney and Thomas Coombes. Extracts of other works formed a kind of 'greatest hits' compilation: Stephens' monologue Sea Wall (originally performed by Andrew Scott) was delivered with great potency by Tom Sturridge. Kola Bokinni's comic riff from Nathan Queeley-Dennis's Bruntwood prize-winning Bullring Techno Makeout Jamz, was another highlight, as was Jonny Donahoe's performance from Every Brilliant Thing, which has travelled to New York and toured extensively since he co-wrote it with Macmillan. The National Theatre's incoming director, Indhu Rubasingham, and theatre producer Ellie Keel were among guests speaking of their collaborations with Paines Plough – Rubasingham in tenure at the Kiln theatre where she staged Amy Trigg's Reasons You Should(n't) Love Me (which Trigg charismatically reprised in a screen extract) and Keel as co-founder of the Women's prize for playwriting. Morgan recalled how Paines Plough had saved her life as a writer in the 1990s but also spoke of the deluge of writers leaving theatre for screen work. Live performance was not 'locked behind glass' as 'a slick multimillion dollar series,' she said, with what sounded like a note of bittersweetness, given her TV credits. There were many reminders of the need for arts investment. The evening was part of an initiative aiming to raise £50,000 to develop new writing talent. There is an auction lot, One Page Play, promising a personalised play written by Bartlett, Bush, Kelly or Roy Williams for the highest bidder.
